Sunday, January 30, 2011

The Whole Five Feet by Christopher Beha


Published:  2009 by Grove Press
Source:  Purchased

  I seem to be drawn to these "project" memoirs, where someone takes on some grand goal over the course of a year and then writes about it.  Some of them have been more interesting than others (A.J. Jacobs is the best, in my opinion), but at the very least I find it admirable that one has the discipline to carry out such undertakings.
 
  I am especially impressed with Christopher Beha's quest to read over the course of one year the entire Harvard Classics, a selection of great books of literature intended to fit on a five-foot shelf.  While a challenge in itself, it is compounded by the illness and death of a close family member and Beha's own health emergency which, as a cancer survivor, he does not take lightly.  Heavy on Greek and Latin works, and with a seemingly appropriate volume on medical-themed texts, the Classics provide Beha a respite from all that was going on in his life and in a way gave him some comfort:

Reading these words that others had set down while they suffered and before they were gone made things easier for me.

  This is a serious memoir, and also encouraging.  Not all of us have the time to undertake an entire collection of great books, but Christopher Beha does make a good case for reading them.

  I read this book for the What's in a Name Challenge 4, for the category "Book with a size in its title".

2 comments:

  1. Oh, this does sound rather interesting, and though I probably could never complete it myself, it gives me warm feelings to know that someone out there actually did and reported back on it. I am going to have to read this one, and I thank you for sharing your great review!

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  2. nice! sounds very intriguing!
    re: the fates will find their way, I wasn't crazy about it but I can see why it will/would be popular. I liked the parts where the narrator is imagining Nora's life but the rest of the whiny-white-boy-angst thing didn't do much for me. i thought it was beautifully written but that I've read this before and it felt sort of tired most of the time. So you're not alone!

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